Chill-Pop Artist Mokita shares “Color Me In” EP via Nettwerk | Supporting Augustana on Select Dates in November
October 28, 2022 BY Jason Currell
Nashville singer-songwriter-producer Mokita (aka John-Luke Carter) arrives with his EP Color Me In via Nettwerk. The release of the EP is accompanied by Mokita’s new single “Figure Me Out.” The Color Me In EP is a tender body of work highlighting Mokita’s powerful vocals that glide over a gentle, soulful pop resonance. Beyond the alluring sonic surfaces, there’s a deeper narrative at play, one that raises questions on the road ahead, but does not dismiss one’s own starting line. The 5-track collection is boldly reflective yet also uplifting and elevated by a pristine production that features diaristic songwriting examining the essential choices and chances we take in life.
Mokita shares this about the Color Me In EP: “This EP is about growing up. I’ve been sober for the past 3 years, so I feel like a lot of the songs I had been writing were tied up into trying to figure out what it looks like to really live life to the fullest. I had started looking at a lot of the questions that I had been putting off for most of my life. ‘Color Me In’, ‘Figure Me Out’ and ‘Happiness’ are all sort of an amalgamation of those thoughts and are steeped in some deeper content that I haven’t really written about before. I had written about depression and breakups and anxiety a lot before this batch of songs, but I really love writing about the things I’m going through currently. One of the things that was tough for me when I first quit drinking was just trying to figure out how to spend my nights. You get in the habit of going out every night and then all of sudden when you quit doing that you realize you don’t know what to do. I was just bored. So, I started reading a lot more and diving into what I believed, who I wanted to be as a person and really chased after that. I wanted to be able to write about my doubts just as I wanted to write about things I knew for certain. Most of this EP was born out of conversations. There is so much about life that I don’t have figured out, and that is where most of the songwriting inspiration came from. A lot of my approach to writing these songs was new to me, and so I wanted to get out of my comfort zone when it came to production as well. Since a lot of the lyrical content was a little deeper, I wanted the songs to feel more intimate and personal.”
Brand new track “Figure Me Out” threads together lithely picked acoustic guitar with live drums and strings as it builds towards a ponderously poignant chorus. “From a lyrical standpoint, it’s a conversation with God. It basically says, ‘If I’m going to give up control of my life, I need to know you’ve got me figured out.’ It’s a real discussion of faith, ‘If this is what I’m living for, I have to know it’s right.’”
Leading up to his Color Me In EP, Mokita shared his title-track single last month, which followed his previous singles “Happiness,” “Crash ft. Charlotte Sands,” and “Room For Another.”
“Color Me In” hinges on airy beats and sparkling keys. Consisting of several layers of mandolins, a high-strung guitar, a fretless bass, and syncopated drum pattern, the track’s sonic arrangements are warm, engaging, and cinematic. On the lyrical forefront, “Color Me In” is about not only searching for meaning, but searching for fullness. A recurring theme for Mokita’s John-Luke Carter’s life outside of his music pursuits, “Color Me In” serves as a vital piece to his ever-evolving catalog and a brilliant showcase of his chameleon approach to crafting music. The track was accompanied by a visualizer shot and edited by Zach Pigg.
“Happiness” is complimented by a distorted bass line alongside a zestful production. Led by textured chill-pop and sweeping melodies, the candid track is brimming with introspective lyrics and fervent vocals. There’s an honest delivery behind “Happiness” not only with its alluring soundscape but with its theme of not finding happiness but creating it. The track is a testament that happiness is not 24/7 or a light switch away and that the biggest takeaway is becoming content right now with yourself.
“Crash,” which features rising artist Charlotte Sands, is about being stuck in a relationship with someone that you know won’t last, it’s not good for either of you, but you can’t break the cycle of it. Directed by Ed Pryor, the music video makes references and callbacks to 80s movies and pop culture. Since being released this past summer, the track has garnered close to 2M streams on Spotify alone.
Mokita initially set the stage for his EP with the gentle-yet-passionate effort, “Room For Another.” Co-written with friend and labelmate Bre Kennedy, the track saw him return to his roots as a singer-songwriter with live drums and a breezy guitar-laden melody about “making room for another person and being aware emotionally you need to sacrifice and give and take.” The track was accompanied by a sentimental music video directed by David O’Donohue.
During Mokita’s EP cycle, he had embarked on a 24-date North American tour with California dream-pop duo slenderbodies. You can find Mokita next supporting indie rock band Augustana on select dates in November for their “Everyday an Eternity Tour.” Mokita has 4M+ Spotify monthly across 400M+ cumulative streams.
“Color Me In” EP is available at all digital retailers: https://mokita.ffm.to/colormein-ep
Mokita – “Color Me In” EP Tracklist:
1. Color Me In
2. Figure Me Out
3. Crash (ft. Charlotte Sands)
4. Happiness
Tour Dates:
*supporting Augustana
11/1: Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse*
11/2: Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle*
11/3: Atlanta, GA @ City Winery*
11/11: Franklin, TN @ Franklin Theatre*
About Mokita:
Much like a living being with a heartbeat of its own, music naturally morphs for Mokita. The Nashville-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer aka John-Luke Carter channels the energy of these fluctuations into his artistry. Floating freely between pop, folk, alternative, and indie, he fearlessly embraces his creative inclinations, presenting a personal and poignant sound in the process.
Hailing from Asheville, NC, John-Luke absorbed a passion for music through his parents. Mom sang, and dad played guitar in addition to serving as a pastor. At six-years-old, John-Luke started taking piano lessons. During middle school, he picked up a guitar for “the classic reason—to impress a girl,” he laughs. Visiting the library, he spent countless hours listening to CDs, consuming everything from Led Zeppelin and Def Leppard to John Mayer as well as Top 40. Playing music throughout college, he landed in Nashville to focus on his songwriting. He constantly grinded behind-the-scenes.
In addition to co-writing “Summer Feeling” for Matoma & Jonah Kagen, “idk where i’m at rn” for Gavin Haley, “Throwing Punches” for Chaz Cardigan, and more, he shined on a series of collaborations, including “Take It Back” with Ella Vos, “Speeding Up” with slenderbodies, “All Into Nothing” with R3HAB, and “I’m Sorry” with Stand Atlantic, to name a few. Additionally, he lent his talents to remixes for G-Eazy, Daya, Rob Thomas, and more with GOLDHOUSE. During 2019, he unveiled the 4201 EP powered by “More Than Friends,” “Inside Out,” and “ICLYA.” On its heels, “Colorblind,” an emotive, atmospheric track that opened, a vulnerable look at depression, exploded to the tune of 66M+ Spotify streams.
In its wake, he created at a prolific pace, assembling what would become Color Me In with frequent collaborator and co-producer Trent Dabbs. “Towards the end of COVID, I was writing a bunch of songs,” he recalls. “I go through seasons where I’ll write a ton and work on what I’ve written. This one lasted from the beginning of 2021 through to 2022. I’ll get with Trent, and we’ll discuss life, what we’re going through, and all of these different things. I challenged myself with the melodies, even if they felt counterintuitive to how I would typically do things. We made production choices that were a little out of my comfort zone, putting real drums on tracks. I ran towards things I wouldn’t normally do.”
After racking up hundreds of millions of streams and earning acclaim from Wonderland, Billboard, Just Jared, Atwood Magazine, SHEESH, and more, as well as wrapping up his first full North America tour supporting slenderbodies this past summer, Mokita continues to break boundaries with his 2022 Color Me In EP.
